Tuesday, October 24, 2017

Security In Iraq Oct 15-21, 2017


For the twelfth time in the last thirteen full weeks Iraq witnessed less than 100 security incidents. Casualties were extremely high however because of clashes between the Peshmerga and Iraqi forces.

There were just 60 incidents reported from October 15-21, 2017 in Iraq. That was the second lowest amount of the year with only 52 recorded September 22-28 being lower. Since August 15-21 there has been less than 100 incidents in 12 out of 13 weeks.

Ninewa led the country with 16 incidents, followed by 12 in Kirkuk, 11 in Baghdad, 6 in Salahddin, 5 each in Anbar and Diyala, 2 each in Babil and Kurdistan, and 1 in Dhi Qar.

Security Incidents In Iraq By Province Oct 15-21, 2017
Dhi Qar 1
Babil 2
KRG 2
Anbar 5
Diyala 5
Salahaddin 6
Baghdad 11
Kirkuk 12
Ninewa 16

321 people died and 449 were wounded during the week. 2 Turkish soldiers, 13 members of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), 14 members of the Iraqi Security Forces (ISF), 47 civilians, 118 Peshmerga, and 127 Hashd al-Shaabi lost their lives. Another 5 Turkish soldiers, 14 ISF, 116 civilians, 152 Hashd, and 162 Peshmerga were injured. By province there were 3 casualties in Anbar, 3 in Babil, 10 in Kurdistan, 32 in Baghdad, 35 in Diyala, 57 in Ninewa, 59 in Salahaddin and 571 in Kirkuk.

Casualties In Iraq By Province Oct 15-21, 2017
Anbar 3 (1 Killed, 2 Wounded)
Babil 3 (1 Killed, 2 Wounded)
KRG 10 (5 Killed, 5 Wounded)
Baghdad 32 (8 Killed, 24 Wounded)
Diyala 35 (12 Killed, 23 Wounded)
Ninewa 57 (46 Killed, 11 Wounded)
Salahaddin 59 (5 Killed, 54 Wounded)
Kirkuk 571 (243 Killed, 328 Wounded)

With the Iraqi forces having paused its campaign to free Western Anbar to take on the Kurds in the disputed territories violence has fallen off in the province. There were just 5 incidents during the week leading to 1 death and 2 wounded. Most of these were in central Anbar where the Islamic State still has a presence. The one exception was 7 car bombs being destroyed out by Qaim along the Syrian border.

The insurgents were still active in northeast Babil. There were just two incidents in the governorate, but both were in or around Jurf al-Sakhr. IS has re-infiltrated that area even though there are no civilians there to hide amongst. The district has been turned into a military base by the Hashd, which is the main target of attacks there.

Since the Mosul campaign, which started in October 2016, Baghdad has seen historic lows in violence. For the 3rd week of October there were only 11 incidents in the capital with 8 dead and 24 wounded. These were all small attacks such as shootings and IEDs. Since the end of last year, the militants pulled back their forces from Baghdad, while a new operations commander was appointed who focused upon the rural areas on the outskirts of the city, which have been the support bases for the insurgents. Together these have accounted for the huge change in security.

The major incident in Diyala occurred when local police fired into a crowd protesting the Kurdish security forces withdrawing from Khanaqin in northeast Diyala. A large group marched on the police station where officers opened fire killing 1 and wounding 22. A policeman was also injured. The chief was suspended as a result. The militants have been rebuilding in the governorate, but were responsible for only 4 incidents during the week.

As part of Prime Minister Haidar Abadi’s attempt to re-assert federal authority over Kirkuk a large firefight broke out between the Iraqi forces and Peshmerga. That occurred in Altun Kubri when the federal forces advanced and the Kurds were afraid they were marching on Irbil. The day’s worth of fighting left 126 dead, 1 civilian, 2 soldiers, 6 Peshmerga, and 118 Hashd, and 157 wounded, 2 journalists, 5 soldiers, and 150 Hashd. Another 111 Peshmerga were killed and 162 wounded in clashes the week before when the government first moved into southern Kirkuk. A Turkmen Front office was also burned in Altun Kubri because of the tensions there. The two sides are still standing off as the Kurds are apprehensive of any moves towards their border.

Turkish operations against the PKK led to two incidents in northern Kurdistan. First, 2 IEDs killed 5 Turkish soldiers. Then a Turkish air strike killed 5 PKK fighters. Ankara is bombing PKK areas nearly every week, but casualties are rarely reported. Turkey also has troops stationed in Kurdistan, but this was a rare incident where some of them were attacked.

There were clashes between the Kurds and government forces in Ninewa as well. When the Iraqi forces moved to reclaim the Mosul Dam from the Peshmerga there was a short firefight that left 1 Peshmerga and 8 Hashd dead and 4 Kurds injured. The PKK also killed 2 Turkish soldiers and wounded 2 more with a bomb, which led to an air strike that killed 8 PKK. There were four incidents in Mosul, including a car bomb which was discovered and dismantled.

Tuz Kharmato blew up in another local clash. First, an office of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) the dominant Kurdish party in the town, was set on fire and 3 guards wounded. The next day there was a shootout between the Hashd and Peshmerga that left 5 dead and 51 wounded. There was also looting and the burning of homes. Every few months these incidents occur in the town, but this one was worse than previous ones as there was large scale lawlessness. Rather than being a result of the argument between Baghdad and Irbil these events are usually driven by local arguments, and are worked out by talks and negotiations.

Security In Iraq 2017
Week
Security
Incidents
Dead
Wounded
Jan 1-7
188
509
1,346
Jan 8-14
168
371
1,036
Jan 15-21
137
585
1,262
Jan 22-28
145
289
310
Jan 29-31
74
127
338
JAN
712
1,881
4,292
Feb 1-7
123
388
176
Feb 8-14
164
434
390
Feb 15-21
148
393
508
Feb 22-28
185
647 + 399
1,390 + 1,634
FEB
620
1,862 + 399
2,464 + 1,634
Mar 1-7
179
749
622
Mar 8-14
171
551
614
Mar 15-21
143
571
1,166
Mar 22-28
152
1,233
575
Mar 29-31
71
374 + 278
288 + 2,925
MAR
716
3,478 + 278
3,265 + 2,925
Apr 1-7
174
903
487
Apr 8-14
126
599
669
Apr 15-21
108
479
449
Apr 22-28
122
698
328
Apr 29-30
39
138
51
APR
569
2,817
1,984
May 1-7
106
405
468
May 8-14
109
601
386
May 15-21
132
363
224
May 22-28
106
433
150
May 29-31
69
214
236
MAY
522
2,016
1,464
Jun 1-7
136
1,403
487
Jun 8-14
127
658
174
Jun 15-21
114
480
101
Jun 22-28
119
340
246
Jun 29-30
37
349
127
JUN
533
3,230
1,135
JAN-JUN
3,669
15,262 +
677
14,497 +
4,559
Jul 1-7
141
798
331
Jul 8-14
105
298
86
Jul 15-21
87
124
72
Jul 22-28
107
189
122
Jul 29-31
37
50
25
JUL
477
1,459
636
Aug 1-7
80
143
188
Aug 8-14
88
955
124
Aug 15-21
73
97
100
Aug 22-28
85
674
132
Aug 29-31
31
30
40
AUG
357
1,958
1,261
Sep 1-7
62
68
73
Sep 8-14
78
412
176
Sep 15-21
91
145
180
Sep 22-28
52
78
104
Sep 29-30
23
25
16
SEP
306
728
549
Oct 1-7
63
60
82
Oct 8-14
72
352
85
Oct 15-21
60
321
449

Violence By Province Oct 15-21, 2017
Province
Violence
Anbar
5 Incidents
1 Killed
1 ISF
2 Wounded
2 Civilians

1 Shooting
2 IEDs
3 Suicide Bombers Killed
7 Car Bombs Destroyed
Babil
2 Incidents
1 Killed
1 Civilian
2 Wounded
2 Hashd

1 Shooting
1 IED
Baghdad
11 Incidents
8 Killed
8 Civilians
24 Wounded
3 ISF
21 Civilians

3 Shootings
7 IEDs
1 Sticky Bomb
Dhi Qar
1 Incident

1 IED
Diyala
5 Incidents
12 Killed
12 Civilians
23 Wounded
1 ISF
22 Civilians

3 Shootings
2 IEDs
Kirkuk
12 Incidents
243 Killed
3 Civilians
4 ISF
117 Peshmerga
119 Hashd
328 Wounded
6 Civilians
10 ISF
150 Hashd
162 Peshmerga

6 Shootings
1 Suicide Bomber
1 Mortar
3 Suicide Bombers Killed
KRG
2 Incidents
5 Killed
5 PKK
5 Wounded
5 Turkish Soldiers

2 IEDs
1 Turkish Air Strike
Ninewa
16 Incidents
46 Killed
1 Peshmerga
2 Turkish Soldiers
8 PKK
8 Hashd
9 ISF
18 Civilians
11 Wounded
11 Civilians

7 Shootings
6 IEDs
2 Suicide Bombers
1 Turkish Air Strike
1 Car Bomb Dismantled
Salahaddin
6 Incidents
5 Killed
5 Civilians
54 Wounded
54 Civilians

1 Shooting
2 Suicide Bombers Killed

SOURCES

Al Alam, "Four Turkish soldiers killed in northern Iraq: army," 10/17/17

Al Ghad Press, “Video … Freed the village of Um al-Luz and the destruction of 7 car bombs in Qaim,” 10/17/17

Human Rights Watch, "Iraq: Fighting in Disputed Territories Kills Civilians," 10/20/17

Iraq Newspaper, “Iraq: Kurds And Turkmen: The Conditions Of The Baghdad Government For Negotiations Is Unacceptable,” 10/22/17
- "Iraqi Newspaper: The Killing Of 9 Peshmerga And One From The Christian Crowd In Mosul Dam And Comment Of Barzani," 10/17/17

Al Maalomah, "Security forces dismantle a car bomb in Mosul," 10/18/17
- "Three guards were injured by a large fire of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan headquarters in Tuz Kharmato," 10/15/17

Mostafa, Mohamed, "Iraq army seize Kirkuk area, Peshmerga say 26 fighters killed in 4 days," Iraqi News, 10/20/17
- "Peshmerga casualties in Kirkuk turmoil at 246: medics," Iraqi News, 10/18/17

Mostafa, Nehal, "24 protesters killed, injured in attempt to break into police station in Diyala," Iraqi News, 10/19/17

NINA, "Five Turkish soldiers killed and wounded by roadside bomb in northern Iraq," 10/16/17
- "Turkish Fighter Jets Target PKK Positions In Northern Iraq, Killing 5," 10/18/17

Rudaw, "Iraqi army, Shiite militia and Peshmerga exchange heavy fire north of Kirkuk," 10/20/17

Al Sumaria, "A civilian was killed and a policeman wounded by gunfire in Khanaqin and the Diyala Council demands an investigation," 10/19/17

Zucchino, David, “Iraqi Forces Overpower Kurs, but Public Relations Battle Rages,” New York Times, 10/22/17

Xinhua, "2 soldiers killed in Iraq's Altun Kupri clashes: military," 10/21/17

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

At this point, I am wondering why such a rich nation in terms of multi faceted resources cannot stop fighting with one another long enough to explore and develop the country's wealth in peace, and share the prosperity with everyone?
Aren't you tired of never ending battle yet? You could be the next Kuwait, Jordan, Qatar, Dubai, etc. or better. Aligning yourselves with the never ending war waging factions in Iran will only end badly for ALL of you as a nation. Prosperous nations, and industry, will exit soon if you continue on this pathway. Then what?
...Please, stop the fighting and killing, and build something for God's sake. You are ALL Iraqi's..
Knock it off please, or the rest of the prosperous world around you will cut you off, cut off the support which you have enjoyed for a few years now, and let you descend back into the corrupted economic abyss, and dictatorship you have been experiencing for decades. Enough with the bullets and tanks.. Try some bricks and mortar..
You are on the 3 yard line, and the goal line is within your grasp in this struggle to get out of the abyss you were forced in to by Saddam and company. Please do not blow this opportunity. You all have worked far too hard to get this far..
Remember, a rising tide raises all ships. Think ahead for the sake of your families, and most of all, your children. Turn the corner, and embrace a peaceful decade or two of prosperity - TOGETHER... Do that, and you will never turn back, and never want anything else.. Embrace your success...TOGETHER!
Good Luck!

Review The Ins & Outs Of Mesopotamia

Lyell, Thomas, The Ins & Outs Of Mesopotamia , Washington DC: Westphalia Press, 2016   Thomas Lyell was a magistrate during the Brit...